As You Wish
by Center of the Galaxy
Summary: "And yeah, maybe we're not exactly white knights or anything like that, but we deserve a happy ending, even if we have to fight for it." Peter tells her. *Two-shot, post-movie, in which fairy tales are told and Gamora learns she too can live happily ever after, slight Peter/Gamora*
1. Once Upon A Time

**_Author's Note: _**_I blame "Into the Woods" for this. Which, incidentally was a pretty good movie. Regardless, it got me to thinking about fairy tales and thus, the premise for this fic was born. Set post-movie. Enjoy!_

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><p><em>"Once upon a time – for that is how all stories should begin – there was a boy who lost his mother." <em>

_― John Connolly_

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><p>Xandar is in chaos.<p>

Even with Ronan gone—did that really happen? Did she help defeat one her father's allies?—there are the injured to tend to, the damage to be repaired and lost family members to find. People are crying, embracing each other as the relief sets in. Others are searching, calling out for whomever they've lost. Through it all, Nova Corps sprints through the battlefield trying to help the masses of citizens in need of assistance.

"Are you hurt?" A soldier calls to her and she can see the way his eyes widen just a bit more. Her appearance is disheveled and bloody—this she knows—but aside from the lethargy and the soreness caused by the infinity stone, she is alive and she will heal. Others need aid more than she.

"I'm unharmed." Her voice is faint, almost raw from what seems like an eternity of screaming. She's swaying where she stands and she wants nothing more than to sleep for what might very well be an eternity. Still, she is alive.

"But miss—"

"It's okay." Peter slides next to her, not faring much better than she. Still, his presence is comforting and he places a warm hand on her shoulder as he meets the shoulder's gaze. "I've got this one."

"Y-yes sir!" The Nova Corps officer stammers before scampering away.

"Sir?" Peter echoes, a trace of laughter in his worn voice.

"Everyone saw what you did—" She points out.

"Hey, hey!" He interjects sharply, a smirk alighting on his lips. "What we did."

_We. _

The word stirs some foreign emotion in her, something she long thought she lost. For as long as she could recall, her days had been spent in battle and in bloodshed. Thanos' rules were simple—kill or be killed. He'd groomed her to be the best weapon in his army. She'd been his precious daughter; his favorite.

But, even after all the years with him, she still remembered the faraway fields of her home planet; of her mother's warm embrace and her father's encouraging words. She'd held onto those memories—the only source of light in the darkness of the world Thanos thrust upon her—and it was they that had given her strength to break free.

_We're the Guardians of the Galaxy._

Thanos will come for her. He'd no doubt kill her for her treachery. This is something she'd made peace with the moment that she left, but if she puts any of her team in danger—

"Gamora?" Peter's brow furrows in confusion at her dour expression. "You wanna let me know why you're frowning right now? Cause we pretty much just kicked Ronan's ass."

She can picture all too well what Thanos will do to Peter—to all of them. He'd torture them in front of her. He'd kill them all slowly until he'd turn to her. With methodical precision, he'd destroy her too. If he felt merciful, he'd kill her at the end of it. If not, he'd piece her back together like Nebula, only to tear her apart once more.

Her team though . . . they'd die because of her.

"Gamora?" Peter grabs her hand this time. He squeezes hers softly, the warmth grounding her in the present.

"My apologies." She plasters a grin on her lips, though she knows the expression doesn't reach her eyes. "I was simply . . . recalling memories." Her gaze drifts to Rocket and a frown replaces the fake smile. The raccoon is clutching the twig Groot left behind, sobbing. Drax is with him, trying to comfort the creature.

"Groot." Peter sighs, voice barely above a whisper.

"We are Groot." Gamora repeats, softly. "Is that not the truth?"

"Yeah." The Terran agrees after a moment. "All of us, we're a team now. We need to stick together."

Gamora forces herself to nod when all her mind screams is for her to protect them by getting as far away as she can possibly manage.

"Mama!" A high-pitched voice cries and out of smoke, a little Xandarian girl, only a few planetary rotations old is wandering alone. Her crimson skin is covered with dust and her white dress is torn, but Gamora can spy no injuries on her. "Mama!"

Before Gamora can inquire as to what to do, Peter swoops in. He moves to the little girl, beaming at her and talking cheerfully to her. The girl continues to cry, but allows Peter to hold her. Though the Terran winces at the contact, he continues to hold her, bouncing her slightly, trying to ease her pain.

"Easy, easy." He soothes softly. "We'll find your mama, okay?" He grins at her once more and the child calms a bit. "She's looking for you right now. She'll be here before you know it."

"Peter—" Gamora begins, but the girl begins to cry once more, wailing loud and he curses under his breath.

"C'mon, don't do that." He practically pleads. "Hey, hey, I know! I'll tell you a story. You like stories, don't you?"

The little girl's eyes widen ever so slightly.

"Stories?" She echoes, with baited breath.

"Yeah, stories." Peter plows on, before she can get a chance to change her mind. He sets the girl down on a rock and kneels down to meet her gaze. "This is one my mom told to me, okay? It's a special story."

"Oh!" The girl breathes, excited.

"Once upon a time," Peter begins, dramatically, with a flourish of his hands. "In a far away kingdom, there lived a young queen, who longed for a child."

Gamora moves to sit next to the girl, unsure of what kind of story this is. Her home world told stories, it's true, but none that had begun so bizarrely.

And with rapt attention, both the master assassin and the little girl listened.

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><p><em>The queen would often sit by her window to do her needlepoint. One day, she pricked her finger on the needle and a single drop of blood hit the snow. In that moment, the queen said, "How I wish for a child with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as the raven's wing." <em>

_ And, as often the case with stories like these, she got her wish. A beautiful princess was born with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as the raven's wing. Thus, the queen named her Snow White. The queen; however, died soon after the princess was born and the king, in his grief, married another woman. The new queen was vile and black of heart though fair of face. _

_ Everyday, the queen would go to her mirror—an enchanted mirror that could answer any question posed to it—and she would ask,_

_ "Mirror, mirror, on the wall_

_ Who is the fairest one of all?" _

_ And the mirror would reply that the evil queen was the fairest._

_ This continued until Snow White grew up. For, you see, as the princess grew up, she became known for her kind heart as well as her beauty. In no time at all, the evil queen soon became the second fairest of them all. This enraged the evil queen who swore to get rid of Snow White. To that end, she sent the princess into the forest with her loyal huntsman. The huntsman was to kill Snow White and bring back her heart as proof to the evil queen._

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><p>At this, the little girl and Gamora gasp.<p>

"But surely," Gamora interrupts, slightly worried for the young princess. "Surely, Snow White will figure this out?" Girls on her home world had been taught to fight from an early age. This princess should've as well!

"Snow White!" The little girl shouts in alarm.

"Just relax, would you?" Peter chuckles, clearly enjoying the attention. "The story isn't over yet."

"This is quite an odd story," Gamora mutters. "Who informed you of it?"

"First off," Peter starts, "It's called a 'fairy tale' and on Earth, everyone knows them." Then, his voice softens. "And my mom used to tell them to me."

A brief silence.

"Oh." The assassin mumbles. "Peter . . ." She's at a loss of what to say.

"Snow White!" The little girl cries impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there." Peter teases her. "So, Snow White is about to be killed by the huntsman."

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><p><em>The huntsman prepared himself to stab the princess, but he could not bring himself to do it. He told the princess flee into the forest and to never return. He would serve the queen the heart of a boar instead. <em>

_ After a long journey from the forest, Snow White came across a cottage. Finding it abandoned—or so she thought due to all the dust and grime—she let herself in. _

_ "How strange!" Remarked she, upon seeing how the ceilings were low and everything in the cottage seemed to be made for someone the size of a child. "There are seven beds. Do seven children live here?" _

_ Yet, exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep. _

_ At sunset, the owners of the cottage, the seven dwarfs—_

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><p>"Dwarfs?" Gamora repeats, the word foreign on her tongue. "What are dwarfs?"<p>

"Oh!" Peter exclaims, eyes widening. "They're, um . . ." He struggles searching for a way for her to understand. "They're really small people."

"Small Terrans?" Gamora questions.

"Well, they're not exactly human either because dwarfs can sometimes have magical powers, but the dwarfs in this story do not so—"

"I fail to comprehend." She states bluntly.

"Just . . ." He lets out a shaky breath. "Just go with it."

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><p><em>Okay, so as I was saying, sunset came and the seven dwarfs returned to find Snow White sleeping in their beds. Needless to say, they were a bit confused. At first, they mistook her for a burglar and were going to throw her out, but Snow White awoken and explained her tragic story. Upon hearing such a sad tale, the dwarfs' hearts sympathized for this poor princess and they agreed to let her stay with them. <em>

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><p>"And then?" Gamora presses.<p>

"Mama!" The little Xandarian calls as an older woman sprints out from the smoke. Her eyes seeing the child, she begins to cry as she rushes to her daughter, picking her up into her arms and holding her close.

"Oh, my little girl!" The woman exclaims. "How I have missed you!"

"See?" Peter says with a wink. "Mama found you after all." The woman, upon seeing Peter, beams.

"Thank you for looking after her." She informs him, clearly grateful.

"No problem." Peter shrugs. "Gave me a chance to tell an old story."

"Snow White?" The little girl turns to Peter and he smirks slightly.

"Right." He beams, smile like Terra's sun. "Snow White lived happily ever after."

Gamora senses there is more to this story than Peter's telling, but she relents upon seeing how tired Peter is. His shoulders slump ever so slightly as the mother thanks him profusely for taking care of her daughter. She walks away, taking her daughter back with her, back to their lives and Gamora wonders if the little girl will ever remember Snow White or if it will fade away, like the remnants of a dream.

"Star Lord?" One of the Nova Corp officers calls hesitantly and she can see the twitch of his lips as he hears his precious codename. "We need to get you and your team to medical."

"Right." He murmurs.

"I am unharmed—" She tries to protest, but Peter's arm is around her waist, guiding her towards the medical tent set up.

"C'mon." He urges her. "Just let the doc look you over."

She should say no. She should get away from here—as far away as she can because Thanos is coming for her and he will kill her and her team if she stays put—but there's something about how safe she feels with them. For the first time since her parents died, she feels like she belongs somewhere again.

And she won't abandon them in this state, especially after losing Groot.

"Groot!" Drax shouts and instantly, her head darts around and she can see the small twig in Rocket's arms twitching. She gasps, afraid that her eyes are playing tricks on her.

"Someone bring a pot!" Rocket commands and Peter laughs, relief evident and tears spring to Gamora's eyes.

Perhaps, she hadn't lost as much she believed.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>For odd technical reasons, this site will not let me upload the full story in one chapter. So, please continue on to the next chapter. Thanks! _


	2. Happily Ever After

_**Author's Note: **For some reason, I am having a really hard time uploading chapters over 4,000 words. So, I had to spilt this story up. Sorry! Enjoy the rest of the story._

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><p>The Nova Corps wants to keep her overnight for observation.<p>

She relents only after seeing Peter's concerned gaze sweeping over her, checking her for any seemingly invisible and deadly injuries. He's ill at ease here and she wonders if it's because of his mother. She does not know what medical facilities are like on Terra—she assumes they are primitive at best—but judging from his wary gaze resting the hologram monitoring her vitals, she supposes they are not the best places to be.

"You should get some rest." Gamora says softly.

Peter just chuckles dryly.

"I'm fine."

"You held onto that Infinity Stone much longer than I did—" He shakily lowers himself down on to the small chair by her bedside.

"I'm okay, Gamora."

"No," She protests, halfheartedly. "But if you insist on being foolhardy—"

"Foolhardy," He mutters, rolling his eyes. "I'm not being—"

"Nevertheless," She interjects, lying back on the soft pillow. "It is your health." She shuts her eyes; going over all the possible escape routes she has just in case Thanos should attack.

". . . I don't like hospitals."

Her eyes open once more, gaze shifting to him.

"No one does."

Peter hesitates and leans forward in his chair, fists white knuckling the handles. Stress rolls off him in waves and she sighs softly. Exhaustion hits her and she hasn't had a chance to check in on Groot—she grins at that—or anyone else and she really should get of this bed, but she is just so tired.

She turns her hand over, palm facing upwards. It's an invitation—a chance for him to be anchored. A moment to reassure himself that he isn't alone anymore.

"Peter?"

His hand slips into hers; his fingers gripping her own.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

He doesn't answer and she falls asleep before she can press him for more details.

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><p><em>Life with the dwarfs was peaceful for Snow White. She cooked for them and kept the house each day while they mined in the mountain. Each morning, she would send them on their way and they would warn her to keep the door locked for the evil queen was still out there. <em>

_ And indeed, the evil queen knew where Snow White was. Her mirror informed her of the huntsman's treachery and the evil queen knew what she had to do. Her first attempt had been as a dress merchant. She attempted to suffocate the princess with a too tight bodice. This failed. Her second attempt was a beautiful gold comb, dipped in poison. This too failed her. _

_Finally, she conjured up a beautiful, shiny apple. Then, with a wave of her hand, the evil queen transformed into an old beggar woman, certain that this disguise would serve her purpose well. _

_ "With this poison apple," The evil queen chuckled. "I shall finally get my wish!" _

_ And then she was off towards the dwarfs' cottage._

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><p>Gamora is burning.<p>

At first, she thinks it's Thanos—he's found her and now she's going to die in the flames—but Peter's soft voice filters in and she calms. She can't focus on the words, but she recognizes that gentle tone.

Peter's afraid.

Her eyes fly open.

"Gamora, easy." He tells her as he dabs her brow with a damp cloth. "You're running a pretty high fever." He glances at her monitor and grimaces.

"M'sick?" She wheezes, her voice barely above a whisper. She can hear Thanos in her mind, chiding her for showing weakness. She isn't supposed to be weak—she was built to be a killer, to always get the job done. Being laid up in a hospital bed would be the surest way for her to get killed when he found her.

"Infection, yeah." He shifts his weight in his chair, obviously uncomfortable. "Nebula really did a number on you, that's what the doc said." There's a question in his tone, one that he's too afraid to ask.

"I am . . ." She lets out a shaky breath. "I am okay."

He smirks, a façade obviously, but she doesn't have the energy to press it.

"Yeah, well—"

"You were telling me about Snow White." He blinks; his hand hovers momentarily above the cool dish of water, like a child caught in a moment of wrongdoing.

". . . yeah."

"Tell me more." She smiles softly, her eyes drifting shut.

She's asleep before he starts to speak once more.

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><p><em>Snow White knew not to open the door to strangers, but the old woman before her was clearly no threat. Still, she had promised the dwarfs and the young princess always kept her promises. <em>

_ "Very well, my dear, I understand," The old woman said sweetly. "But surely, you could take this sweet apple of mine." _

_ Snow White didn't know why, but she felt very wary. _

_ "I cannot accept any gifts. I am sorry." _

_ "You fear it is poisoned?" The old woman questioned, chuckling softly. "Here. I shall eat this white half and you, my dear, shall eat the juicy red half." She cut the apple and bit into her own. Then, she extended the other half of the apple out. Though Snow White knew better, she desired the apple and took it. Taking a bite, she realized too late her mistake. _

_ She collapsed to the ground only after the first bite._

_ The old woman just laughed._

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><p>"My poor Gamora," Thanos stands over her, smirking. "Look at how far you've fallen."<p>

"Thanos." She whispers, trying to force herself to sit up, but there's an impossible weight crushing her chest. She can't move, can't escape.

"So, you betrayed me." Her "father" states, smug. "And for what?" Her team lies dead, limbs torn apart and eyes wide open. He gestures to Peter, slumped over in the chair, skull crushed and blood and bone fragments scattered around. "For your band of misfits?" He leans in, breath ghosting on her cheeks. "For him?"

"No." She gasps, tears stinging her eyes.

"You loved him, didn't you?" He deduces. Then, seeing her gaze, he laughs, loud and boisterous. "It's funny, isn't it? You, thinking that you deserved love, that someone could love you?" He pushes Peter's body out of the chair. It falls to the ground with a thud and soon, Thanos is sitting there. "Gamora, you've learned nothing."

A flash of the infinity stone fills the room with light. Thanos reaches for it, gripping the stone tightly. Then, eyes flashing purple, he chuckles, dark.

"Well, Gamora, how many hours do you think you'll have until I break you?"

All she knows after that is pain.

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><p><em>When the dwarfs came home that evening they found Snow White lying on the ground. She was not breathing at all. She was dead. They lifted her up and looked for something poisonous. They found nothing. Their dear princess was dead, and she remained dead. They laid her on a bier, and all seven sat next to her and mourned for her and cried for three days. They were going to bury her, but she still looked as fresh as a living person, and still had her beautiful red cheeks.<em>

_They said, "We cannot bury her in the black earth," and they had a transparent glass coffin made, so she could be seen from all sides. They laid her inside, and with golden letters wrote on it her name, and that she was a princess. Then they put the coffin outside on a mountain, and one of them always stayed with it and watched over her._

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><p>In the dark, she can hear voices.<p>

She can never make out what they are saying, but the tone is reassuring and she allows herself to drift in the grey. It's safe here, she knows. Thanos will never catch her here. If she remains here, her team will be safe. If she lets go—

_Gamora, please._

"Peter?" She calls, voice echoing.

_Fight this._

She's never been a quitter. Why start now?

And in the distance, she can see the dim light looming.

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><p><em>Snow White lay there in the coffin a long, long time, and she did not decay, but looked like she was asleep, for she was still as white as snow and as red as blood, and as black haired as the raven's wing.<em>

_Now it came to pass that a prince entered these woods and happened onto the small cottage, where he sought shelter for the night. He saw the coffin on the mountain with beautiful Snow White in it, and he read what was written on it with golden letters. Then he said to the dwarfs, "Let me have the coffin. I will give you anything you want for it."_

_But the dwarfs answered, "We will not sell it for all the gold in the world."_

_Then he said, "Then give it to me, for I cannot live without being able to see Snow-White. I will honor her and respect her as my most cherished one."_

_As he thus spoke, the good dwarfs felt pity for him, for they could see that he loved her, and gave him the coffin. It was then that he lifted off the lid of the coffin and overcome with love, kissed her. For you see, there are many powerful spells out in the world, but love is in a class of itself. Not long afterward she opened her eyes, and was alive again._

_"Good heavens, where am I?" she cried out._

_The prince said joyfully, "You are with me." He told her what had happened, and then said, "I love you more than anything else in the world. Come with me to my father's castle. You shall become my wife." Snow White loved him, and she went with him. Their wedding was planned with great splendor and majesty._

_ And as for the evil queen? Well, when she returned to the mirror and found out the news, she was so horrified that heart evil heart stopped and she died._

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><p>"Welcome back to the land of the living." Rocket greets her, deadpan. Groot chirps from the bedside table, tiny leaves rustling.<p>

"We are in no such land." Drax mutters.

"Metaphor." Peter replies dryly.

"Ah."

"What?" She breathes, turning her head to look at all of them. They're bruised and exhausted, but most importantly, they're alive.

They're all alive.

Thanos hasn't gotten them; their injuries from Ronan haven't killed them—they're all okay.

"Your fever broke last night." Peter informs her quietly. She notices his hand is still in hers, though whether that's for her benefit or his remains to be seen. "Doc says they can release you as soon as tomorrow morning."

"Good." She murmurs, voice rough and dry.

"You look like you want to bolt." Rocket comments dryly.

"Bolt?" Drax echoes.

"It means run." Peter completes quietly. Then, turning to her, "Do you?"

She pictures their broken bodies and lifeless eyes. She sees Thanos laughing above her.

"Thanos will come." She whispers. "When that happens—"

"I will kill him!" Drax shouts proudly.

"We'll all kill him." Rocket mutters with Groot nodding his head quite enthusiastically.

"I am a risk." She whispers; Peter scoffs.

"Don't start that." He tells her sharply.

"I am." She insists. "When Thanos comes for me—"

"Then, we'll all be ready." He insists and she's ready to protest, when her team's glare silences her. "Gamora." He squeezes her hand and her heart flutters.

_You loved him, didn't you? _

"Peter." She pleads, voice breaking. If she lost them—if she lost him—she would never recover. Her heart would shatter and break into a million different pieces that would never be reformed again.

"Do you want to know how Snow White ends?" He asks her instead and Drax furrows his brows, perplexed. Groot chirps and Rocket shakes his head, obviously unsure of what is going on.

"What?" She breathes.

"Ask me how it ends." He insists, his grip on her hand tight, unrelenting.

"How, Peter?"

He relaxes, smiling softly.

"They all lived happily ever after."

"It is just a . . ." Her mind searches for the term. "A fairy tale, Peter. It serves no real purpose—"

"Happily ever after." Peter repeats firmer. "That's how stories—all stories—are supposed to end." He shrugs slightly. "And yeah, maybe we're not exactly white knights or anything like that, but we deserve a happy ending, even if we have to fight for it."

"But Thanos—"

"Shhh." He places a finger to his lips. "You're not listening."

She sighs, aggravated.

"Thanos will lose." Rocket mutters.

"Of course he will!" Drax booms. "I shall see to that!"

"And then, we'll ride off into the sunset," Peter starts, but Rocket snickers. Peter shoots him a glare. "And that will be our happy ending."

"That simple, huh?" She challenges, raising her eyebrow.

Peter doesn't back down.

"That simple." He repeats, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

And though it goes against every bit of logic, she believes him.

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><p>Weeks later, she comes to sit next to him after another job well done.<p>

"Did your mother . . ." She can feel him stiffen. "Did she tell you any other of these 'fairy tales'?"

Peter just beams, exuding happiness and in that moment Gamora doesn't care about Thanos, about her fate or about how she can ever atone for all her mistakes.

All that matters is Peter's calming voice saying,

"Once upon a time."

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><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**_I love fairy tales and it made sense to me that Peter would know a few. His mother seems like the type that would know them by heart and much like the music, I bet Peter would've memorized them as well. Anyways, please review if you have a moment. Thanks! _


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